“After the pandemic there will be a hunger for magic, seduction, pleasure and dance we are longing for the extraordinary.At 16, Rihanna sang to Jay-Z. “I believe we are facing an exceptional era, that we will return to the party for the sake of the party,” he pronounces. He even thinks we could see an updated version of the roaring ’20’s-“les années folles”. “Now we have moved towards a more atmospheric deep house.” And while the pandemic may have struck like a slap in the face to both nightclub owners and party animals around the globe, Jean-Roch is optimistic about the future. “When VIP Room was born just over 20 years ago, we were the kings of hip hop,” he says. Just like La Gioia, the VIP Room itself has “matured” in recent years, says Jean-Roch. “It is not bling-bling but more sensitive and refined-a tribute to la dolce vita.” New for this year is also a Greek restaurant, OPA, on top of the VIP Room, as well as Les Halles de Saint-Tropez, a kind of upscale food hall located at the back of the club, open during the day. On the walls hangs art by the likes of Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring.Īfter dinner the restaurant goes into a party mood and the pianist and singer are replaced by a DJ, not infrequently their house DJ, Sylvain Armand.Ī post shared by VIP ROOM SAINT-TROPEZ updated La Gioia is modern, with elements from around the world,” Jean-Roch tells us. With the metamorphosis, La Gioia has become a mix of bar, restaurant and disco, with upholstery in green velvet, white tablecloths and dim lighting. In the past few years, ice cold tequila shots have “almost become the new champagne,” he says.Īhead of the pandemic summer of 2020, Jean-Roch decided to save the season by renovating their Italian restaurant La Gioia – “joy” in Italian and also the name of his eldest daughter – which is next door to the club. “We want people inside the club who contribute to a festive atmosphere.” Although VIP Room is a huge seller of champagne from Dom Pérignon, Batchou has witnessed how different drinks have trended over time. “A girl who works in a shoe store in Saint-Tropez can also come in, if she is well dressed and has a good spirit,” he notes. “A mixture of people comes to us, from football players and businessmen to politicians and filmmakers,” he says, but points out that you do not necessarily have to be rich or famous to be accepted. In April, ahead of the season, he sends personal messages to them all then bookings start coming in. “Jean-Roch is a master of creating international contacts and ensuring that the guests shine,” as Batchou puts it.ĭuring his 15 years at VIP Room, has amassed over 5,000 phone numbers from regulars from around the world. With performers like Snoop Dogg, VIP Room suddenly got international attention.” Both Batchou and Jean-Roch are onsite every night making sure that regulars get to sit at their favorite tables and have everything they want. He came here and knew no one but gradually built up a network of contacts. A few years later he became artistic director of the then legendary club Papagayo (today transformed into thinique, he took the plunge and started his very own club at the port of Saint-Tropez: VIP Room.Ī post shared by VIP ROOM SAINT-TROPEZ club in Saint-Tropez has always been Jean-Roch’s baby,” says Batchou, the VIP Room’s one-named manager. When the British pop singer and his entourage arrived shortly afterwards in a pair of Aston Martins, rumors about Jean-Roch’s abilities began to spread. One day at the beach, he came across Elton John and gave him a card for Hystéria, as he had named the bar. The year was 1989 when Jean-Roch, now 23, got an offer to take over the operation of the bar in the back room of a chic restaurant, L’Escale, in Saint-Tropez. The experience whetted his appetite, and he soon looked towards Saint-Tropez, which since the ’50s had emerged as one of the Riviera’s hottest seaside resorts for “the rich, famous and beautiful.” Jean-Roch alternated between being a DJ and serving the guests.
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It opened in 1985 and was named La Scala, after the famous opera house in Milan. A post shared by VIP ROOM SAINT-TROPEZ with his younger brother Dominique, he took over his father’s cabaret bar, which they turned into a nightclub.